Chrysalis
by Subuku no Jess
Summary: "For one week, Tamatoa couldn't take it anymore." When Tamatoa rights himself up and goes to recover his position as King of Lalotai, he discovers an unexpected surprise. Post-Movie. A gift for one of my friends.


**AN: First time writing fanfiction on Moana and a first time since not posting on Fanfiction for a while. I'm still going through something, but I want to get my writing life back online. So this is a story I written for a gift exchange on Tumblr. I already put this on DeviantArt and AO3, so I wanted to show it on here. I hope you guys enjoy!**

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For one week, he laid on his back.

Stuck.

For one week, he called for help.

No one came.

For one week, monsters cleaned his collection bare.

Left him to rot with no treasure to his name.

For one week, Tamatoa couldn't take it anymore.

The giant crustacean took matters in his own claws surviving. He spent most of his time wiggling and moving inch by inch. His only meals were the few smaller monsters who assumed they had an advantage over him, only to be proven wrong. Eventually, the monstrous crab managed to move himself towards a couple of large trees and rock formations that were closet to the geysers. He struggled and heaved, but with great effort, he righted his body back up on his dactyls. After stumbling a little and regaining his balance, he huffed, puffed, and exclaimed his first few words in a while towards the ceiling:

"Thank you for your help! I appreciate it!" Tamatoa sneered angrily. Ungrateful beings not able to help him in dire need. He then scowled at the thought of the infamous 'You're Welcome' response that Maui would give whenever the chance was free. Left a sour taste in his mouth. Another huff and the fifty-foot crab took off.

Tamatoa's immediate thought was to get all of HIS treasure back. However, he didn't have the energy and he doubt that the monsters he stole from before would fall for the same tricks twice. No, he needed time to strategize his comeback. He then thought about holing himself back up in his shell home for a while, even walking a few steps towards the towering structure. But he stopped. He has been out for a long time, so no doubt that another monster would instantly move in to claim his home for their own. And most importantly, the crab was admittedly ashamed. A former King of Lalotai reduced to the bare minimum didn't deserve a luxurious home!

He turned to check on the current state of his shell: a pale, yet brownish gold color. No shine to it. Just dreadfully dull.

So, Tamatoa went past the large shell that touched the watery ceiling and went in search of a temporary new home. Just until he got his strength back.

As he trudged along the landscape, what brought him on his back in the first place replayed constantly in a dreadful mantra: Waking up to find a human pest wearing his treasure. Putting on a show. Almost having dinner twice. Beating up Maui to a pulp while dancing, might he add! And then the pest manages to trick him… with an algae-covered barnacle! The dignity! The worst part of it all was that Maui and his little human were probably celebrating with the power of creation at their disposal, also most likely laughing at the Great Tamatoa's defeat. He snarled and cursed under his breath. Once he returned back on top, he'll personally wipe those grins off their faces.

It took until the moon started to rise on the surface to find a decent place. Nights in Lalotai weren't really a notable difference; just the blue water and atmosphere turning into a darker purple and the bioluminescence of both the creatures and plants faintly glowing. Dashes of faint pink light danced across antennae as Tamatoa spotted a cave in a giant rock formation big enough for the behemoth. All the other caves and shells were either preoccupied or too small. Guess this would have to do.

Before he entered the cave, Tamatoa waved his antennae around the entrance. No recent monster scents. Whoever had lived here probably left or died. After a bit of more inspection, he was satisfied and made his way inside, continuing to survey the interior. So far, it was a typical cave with the occasional coral, algae, plenty of sand, and a couple of stalagmites and stalactites. Even though it was temporary, Tamatoa figured he would have to make some adjustments here and there. His bioluminescence gradually glowed brighter as he went deeper into the cave, seeing a light up ahead. When he entered the opening, Tamatoa stopped and his mouth hung open.

Spread all over the walls, ground, and parts of the ceiling were several crystals, each one a different color. Most were the size of an average human. Others were smaller up to the normal size of crystals, very tiny for the crab's standards. A few of them were up to half his height or took up most of his claw. There were a few crystals in the tunnel, but most of the crystals were sitting in a large and spacious area. To top it off, there was a skylight of water just like his home with fish swimming above him. A shelter, food source, and a treasure trove of crystals. It was too good to be true.

It wasn't gold in the slightest, but after being on your back for a week, staring at dark water all day and night, you'd accept any type of shine at this point.

Tamatoa immediately grabbed the nearest crystal that caught his eye: a yellow one that almost sparkled like gold.

Its beauty revived and perked up his greed. Oh, he wanted his hoard back so badly! After admiring it for a while, he placed it on his shell and grabbed another crystal; a dark blue one with a particular glimmer this time. He held it up above his head and closed one eye to inspect it better, only to see something in the background. He moved his claw and saw a large tendril of water coming out of the skylight as if it were waiting for him.

Tamatoa almost dropped the crystal at the sight, causing the tendril to falter until he caught the jewel again. Confusion and fearful surprise turned into curiosity as he slowly moved the tip of the crystal towards him.

Carefully, the tendril followed the movements of the crystal, entering Tamatoa's mouth as fish swam right through the small current and falling onto his tongue. He pulled the tendril back slowly and swallowed the fish down.

This couldn't be magic, right? Not that Tamatoa was afraid of it. Rather he was neutral of it, seeing the benefits and possible setbacks. But the possibility of finding magical items in Lalotai of all places was rare and overlooked. Was his mind playing tricks on him?

What about the first crystal? Tamatoa angled his eyestalks to see that his shell, which only had one crystal upon it, was now glimmering with a sparkle almost like his former shell. Maybe just a polish away from becoming perfect. Perhaps this was a hallucination or wishful thinking. For the final test, he placed down the blue crystal and picked up a dark violet one. Upon being picked up, a dark purple mist emerged from the crystal and spread out all over the cave, surrounding the crystals and crab into darkness. Tamatoa's bioluminescence now kicked into gear with bright blue and pink lights.

Now the crustacean was convinced. Most of these crystals had magic and they reacted to him surprisingly well.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

…. opportunity and luck called~

Tamatoa started laughing, his glowing magenta eyes, the crystal in his claw, and the remaining crystals surrounding him being the only source of light in the darkness. With such an array of gems filled with power at his disposal, it almost made the heart of Te Fiti look like a plain piece of stone!

He was so ready for round two.


End file.
